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From ABC News headquarters, this is World News with Charles Gibson. Good evening. It is a measure of just how bad things have been that the loss of another quarter million American jobs last month is seen as a sign of progress. That’s what happened today when the government said 247,000 were lost in July. That was fewer than anticipated. And the unemployment rate actually declined to 9.4%. The numbers suggest the steep decline in the economy might be easing. So Betsy Stark joins us again tonight. Betsy?

 

Charlie? The economy has now lost jobs for 19 straight months and under normal circumstances, today’s numbers would be appalling. But given where we’ve been, they are instead another sign the worst is behind us and the seeds of recovery are beginning to take hold. At the White House today, the president took some credit for today’s job numbers saying the stimulus plan had rescued the economy from catastrophe. “Today we’re pointed in the right direction. We’re losing jobs at less than half the rate we were when I took office.” In the first three months of this year, panicked employers were slashing jobs in an average pace of nearly 700,000 a month. Over the past three months, that’s eased to about 330,000 a month. “That period of freefall is over. So losing 250,000 jobs a month’s really bad news. But it’s good news compared to losing 700,000.”

 

34-year-old Jason Pauls who lost his job as a bank sales manager a year ago is already feeling better. “So when do you start this job?” “Monday.” “Monday?” “Yes.” He’s just got a new job in banking though it comes with a $ 50,000 pay cut. Even with a smaller paycheck, Pauls is one of the lucky ones. Nearly 15 million unemployed Americans are still looking for work. And a record 5 million have been looking for more than 6 months. Many industries reeling from big drops in profits continue to lay workers off. There were more cuts last month in retail, construction, manufacturing and transportation. Some of those jobs, particularly at auto, housing and finance companies are probably gone forever.

 

Economists say shell-shocked employers would want to see a solid recovery before they start hiring again. And before they hire, they will try to make due with the workers they already have by giving them more hours. There were signs in today’s report that companies are already adding hours. Charlie? Alright. Betsy Stark reporting again tonight. thanks. And Wall Street certainly embraced the job’s report as evidence of an improving economy. The Dow Jones jumped nearly 114 points to its highest close in more than 9 months and the Nasdaq was up 27.

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